BONIFAY – As potential jurors gathered here for jury selection Tuesday, Anthony Lee Hicks Jr. decided to plead guilty to Second-Degree Murder and was sentenced to 45 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Hicks Jr., 32, pled guilty to shooting and killing Marcus Kale Fournier, 25, on March 26, 2024. Circuit Court Judge Russell Roberts accepted the plea and the sentence. Under Florida’s 10-20-Life Statute, Hicks Jr. must serve the first 25 years day-for-day.
Prosecutor Peter Overstreet was prepared to present evidence and witnesses proving that Hicks, with his father as a passenger, wrecked his VW Jetta near County 173 and Parrish Road. Overstreet said it appeared the victim stopped to help Hicks Jr. and his father, and for unknown reasons Hicks Jr. shot him multiple times, killing him.
“This is a senseless tragedy where Mr. Fournier was simply being a good citizen and helping people he thought were severely injured,” Overstreet said. “While we may never know exactly why the defendant shot and killed Mr. Fournier, one thing is clear: the defendant’s intoxication played a huge role. With this plea the victim’s family can now start to have some closure.”
The evidence showed that around 4 a.m., the Florida Highway Patrol responded to the crash in Holmes County. A white VW Jetta had flipped over and hit a tree.
When troopers arrived they initially found the victim, Marcus Kale Fournier, deceased behind another white car on the side of the road. Initially FHP thought Fournier had been ejected from the vehicle until they and EMS noticed a gunshot wound to Fournier’s head.
The Holmes County Sheriff’s Office responded and determined the defendant had been driving at a high rate of speed while under the influence of methamphetamine, cannabis, and alcohol. The Defendant’s father had fallen asleep in the passenger seat and was awakened to his son, the defendant, removing him from the flipped wreckage.
The 911 call placed by the defendant on the victim’s cell phone revealed a highly agitated and intoxicated defendant who was heard arguing with his father. During the call the defendant’s father can be heard saying “what did you do?!” “You shot him!” Law enforcement found a .40 caliber Taurus firearm and three spent shell casings.
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Fournier had simply stopped on his way to work, as a Good Samaritan, to render aid to the occupants of the vehicle. Analysis on the firearm recovered at the scene revealed the Defendant’s DNA. An autopsy of the victim revealed a gunshot wound to the chin which exited his skull, and two gunshot wounds to the back.
Basford thanked the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their work and collaboration on the case.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.